I was hoping to have the rig with as little as possible on the floor area so it does not tangle while fly fishing.

Other consideration is the floatation what i remove i need to place elsewhere i dare say.

What i am after has anyone attempted this before and what pitfalls are there. Also what else should i be considering installing ?????

Brian

Kerry

24-03-2002, 03:10 PM

Floatation, one of the all importants and generally if it's under the floor then one has to sit on the bottom of the hull in times of dire circumstances.

However in a small tinnie not generally a lot of space to put it where it should be (around the top of the gunwales) and if it's under the cross seats then I wouldn't modify them in any way (as they generally an integral part of the hull design) or the floatation under/in them.

Cheers, Kerry.

Harrya

24-03-2002, 03:45 PM

Brian Man why try to do the Imposible
I have a Ally Craft 3.85 meter Explore with a 10 Evenrude It has 2 seats and I put in a wooden ply floor,
it is quick relese by removeing one nut and bolt on each side to remove a wooden wedge from a bracket mounted on the rib, I Mounted my rods on sides, all safty gear and spares stored in Bow. Fule tank can be stored behind rear seat If I have two in boat or moved fored if I am on my own
I mounted my Hummingbird sounder on bracket mounted in port stern corner. two 6volt dry cell batterys in wooden box i ply floor plate next to fule tank and that may sound a bit risky
but if done right no probelm

Cheers Harrya

adrian

24-03-2002, 03:46 PM

hi
I agree with kerry if you want a floor then the best way is to buy a boat with one in it . a friend of mine tried it and the removal of the bench sits is what the boat needed to stay strong and once the boat flexed in the middle and bent it . one good boat down the drain .
so buy a boat insteed of trying to modify it too much.

anzac

shawn

24-03-2002, 04:47 PM

G'day Brian,
I'm just at the finishing stages of a major refit of my boat,a 4.3 m Stessl Edgetracker with a 50 hp Honda,so I hope I can help. What you want to do is possible in a 3.6 m boat, we have done it in a couple of mates boats. Things you have to consider are;

If you take the bench seats out you might upset the rigidity of the boat. As the seats hold the sides in place , and limit the amount of twist in the hull. Porbably worth talking to Stessl about this. It might be worth considering only taking the middle seat out and incorporating the front and rear seats into the casting decks. This way you only have to frame up the middle section for the floor to sit on. This also solves the floatation problems,the rest can go under the floor.

Storing fly rods is a problem,if you put a rod locker in , there is a lot of welding to be done , and the bench seats become a problem. What we did is store the fly rods on the casting decks , with the butt end at the back of the boat. This way they run right up the side of the boat .A couple of velcro tie downs and a bracket in the middle and they are secure and out of the way.

The front and rear casting decks will need aluminium frames welded in to support the decks.I wouldn't use anything less then 12 mm ply for the floors as anything less tends to flex and sag to much.

For the live bait tank , it might be worth considering using an insulated water bottle ,with an airator through the lid. This way you only have to take it , when you need it.

The main problem you might have, is the 15 hp getting on the plane.

Good luck .....Shawn ::)

Brian

25-03-2002, 04:24 AM

Sorry maybe i did not explan myself very well with the removal of the seats i had full intention of installing stiffeners up each side to prevent the flex.

I was also going to take the rig to stessl or holt marine and get there opionion as to the safety factor. As i take my son with me most of the time I have no intention of risking his life mine or anyone that comes fishing with me.

As my mates a welder the main cost was only going to be the stifferners, floor material and some aluminium.

I do agree shawn about the 15 hp i would prefer 20 - 25 hp but that may have to wait :(

Will let you know how i get on with either stessl ot holts maybe they will feel sorry for me and let me have a boat hull very cheap ;D ;D

Jeremy

26-03-2002, 03:34 AM

I converted my tiller steer tinny to a centre console with full floor about 18 months ago and it has worked out very well. It was a hd 4.3 m stessl which has high sides, so I was able to replace most of the floatation from the seats under the floor. It is essential to weld extra bracing where the seats are removed from to support the sides of the boat and also to support the floor you will install. Every boat is different, but you may find that removing just the centre seat may be enough. You could then install a false floor forwards of the front bench seat and back from the rear bench seat, to give you some dry storage areas and casting platforms. I had all my welding done by a marine engineer in Brisbane who would be able to advise whether what you are proposing is workable.

Jeremy

dnej

26-03-2002, 06:09 AM

http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm6.gif Give Danny Hodgkins a call at 55470088, tell him I sent you (David Follett ) he has done a lot of modification to my Stessl, and sure knows how to go about .
Might have to wait a while to get in to get the work done ,as he gets a load of work in,He will offer suggestions over the phone
Hope this helps
Regards David.

Brian

26-03-2002, 02:31 PM

Thanks for all the help ......... i spoke to Holt Marine Brisbane today and just so happens a boat the same as mine was there so i explained what i wanted to do. Apart from a lot of work and heaps of welding it was no problems it would not6 effect the boat as long as i installed the side struts.

To just do the welding would be around $ 200.00 plus the aluminium and flooring. So am going to price the aluminium tomorrow, i know the floor is only $20.00.

I may even end up with a new hull yet for bugger all change over, as it seems stessl was modifing a boat for a customer and they were doing it on the wrong hull. So they are checking this out for me. As they want to offload the boat they started as its no good to them now and looks like i may get it below cost :) :). and its slightly bigger than mine.

Will keep you informed.

brumbs

15-07-2003, 07:04 AM

brian i customise boats so if i can be of any help please contact there are many cost effective ways of doing things